Pathfinders of the West eBook

There was an old saying among retired hunters of Three
Rivers that “one learned more in the woods than
was ever found in l’ petee cat-ee-cheesm.”
Radisson’s training was of the woods, rather
than the cure’s catechism; yet who that has
been trained to the strictest code may boast of as
dauntless faults and noble virtues? He was not
faithful to any country, but he was faithful to his
wife and children; and he was “faithful to his
highest hope,”—­that of becoming a
discoverer,—­which is more than common mortals
are to their meanest aspirations. When statesmen
played him a double game, he paid them back in their
own coin with compound interest. Perhaps that
is why they hated him so heartily and blackened his
memory. But amid all the mad license of savage
life, Radisson remained untainted. Other explorers
and statesmen, too, have left a trail of blood to perpetuate
their memory; Radisson never once spilled human blood
needlessly, and was beloved by the savages.

Memorial tablets commemorate other discoverers.
Radisson needs none. The Great Northwest is
his monument for all time.

[1] Radisson’s petition to the Hudson’s
Bay Company gives these amounts.

[2] See State Papers quoted in Chapter VI. I
need scarcely add that Radisson did not steal a march
on his patrons by secretly shipping furs to Europe.
This is only another of the innumerable slanders against
Radisson which State Papers disprove.

[3] It seems impossible that historians with the slightest
regard for truth should have branded this part of
Radisson’s Relation as a fabrication,
too. Yet such is the case, and of writers whose
books are supposed to be reputable. Since parts
of Radisson’s life appeared in the magazines,
among many letters I received one from a well-known
historian which to put it mildly was furious at the
acceptance of Radisson’s Journal as authentic.
In reply, I asked that historian how many documents
contemporaneous with Radisson’s life he had
consulted before he branded so great an explorer as
Radisson as a liar. Needless to say, that question
was not answered. In corroboration of this part
of Radisson’s life, I have lying before me:
(1) Chouart’s letters—­see Appendix.
(2) A letter of Frontenac recording Radisson’s
first trip by boat for De la Chesnaye and the complications
it would be likely to cause. (3) A complete official
account sent from Quebec to France of Radisson’s
doings in the bay, which tallies in every respect
with Radisson’s Journal. (4) Report of
M. de Meulles to the Minister on the whole affair
with the English and New Englanders. (5) An official
report on the release of Gillam’s boat at Quebec.
(6) The memorial presented by Groseillers to the
French minister. (7) An official statement of the
first discovery of the bay overland. (8) A complete
statement (official) of the complications created by
Radisson’s wife being English. (9) A statement
through a third party—­presumably an official—­by
Radisson himself of these complications dated 1683.
(10) A letter from the king to the governor at Quebec
retailing the English complaints of Radisson at Nelson
River.